Can illegal behavior possibly be ethical?

Answer 1

I think there could be times when ethical behavior could be wrong. Sorry, no examples come to mind right about now. Maybe someone else can give you a better answer!

Example #1:

A couple of hundred years ago, people were being sent from England to to Australia as convicts, for crimes like the theft of food. Nobody steals bread for the money they are going to make 'Fencing' it; these people had hungry families, and no better way to provide food. In such cases, I would consider the crime of theft to be highly ethical.

Another example:

In some societies, for a woman to stand up to her husband is illegal, simply because the society favours the male as the unquestionable head of the family. If a man in such a society were to command his sister or daughter to do something unethical (e.g. sleep with another man when he is already married) and she refused, her actions would be seen as illegal under the laws of that country, but ethical, because she was honouring her own morals and the laws of God.

Answer 2

This is entirely subjective, as ethics are a personal thing. I would say that yes, illegal behavior can certainly be ethical, as in my opinion certain laws are inappropriate. However, this is wide open to personal interpretation, and your ethics may differ hugely from mine. I believe that the majority of people know the fundamental difference between right and wrong, and the law is there for the rest of us.

But that's just my opinion.

Answer 3

Legal behaviour is simply behaviour not rendered illegal by any applicable legal authority. The status of its il/legality is irrelevent to whether or not it is ethical,which is a philosophical concept apart.

Answer 4

While this argument/debate can rage on and on - the KEY issue in ANY criminal offense is the Mens Rea of the perpetrator. In plain English the perpetrator MUST have a criminal INTENT to accompany their behavior (Actus Reus).

(example: If you were lost in a blizzard and freezing to death it would NOT be a crime to break and enter a hunting cabin in order to find shelter to survive.

While the ACT of breaking and entering DID take place, there was no criminal INTENT which accompanied it.

Therefore - while the behavior (Actus Reus) could be considered illegal, the accompanying reason for it (Mens Rea) was not.

Answer 5

Yes, legal behavior can be immoral, but it is generally quite subjective (i.e. it depends on the person's beliefs who is judging the morality of a behavior). Some people think that drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco, and going to strip clubs are all immoral behavior. However, some do not believe these are immoral behaviors. The difference however, is that legal immoral behavior is not intrinsically immoral (i.e. in and of itself is wrong, or almost every single person thinks it is wrong). On the other hand, most illegal behavior is intrinsically immoral, such as killing someone else.

Answer 6

It hardly seems likely and I cannot think of one. Most laws and regulations are written with the intent of producing an ethical outcome.

On the other hand however - something may not be illegal but at the same time it may be unethical.

Answer 7

Yes. Many instances of illegal behaviour may be only so because of an unethical government.

Answer 8

NOT AT ALL TIMES. There are immoral acts but lawful. But there are also lawful acts which are immoral.

Answer 9

Sometimes unethical also just happens to be unlawful as well, but not all the time. The two terms are not synonymous or analogous to one another.